Editor’s note:  Special thanks to Kenya who suggested I link up with Finish the Sentence Friday prompt: “When it comes to sharing online..â€
I stumbled across The Death Of A Blogger and was dismayed by what I found there because it felt like wandering into the past was no different than wandering around the present.
But I took a moment to think about what I saw and to ask myself about what I felt and I remembered this has been a journey through along the long and winding road.
And journeys that do not go along straight lines do not lend themselves to measurement, at least not the quick and easy kind such as you might find on your automobile’s odometer.
You can’t look backwards and see where you have been nor can you see far enough past the clouds to know how far you have to go.
It is a spiral staircase you walk and sometimes that means you feel like you are moving backwards even when you might be pushing ahead.
Words are the death and the lifeblood of a blogger and sometimes I forget to remind myself of  the importance of remembering this.
Jack, No One Understands You
Those were the words in the email and the comment.
They were part of a bigger push by someone who said they didn’t like my writing and wondered why I would “pollute the world” with my words.
I don’t remember when I received that particular note any more than I remember the dates and times I received some of the other compliments that have come courtesy of blogging.
Some of those comments made me laugh because they were ridiculous and some of them made me shake my head in disbelief or anger.
I have spent a good part of my life feeling like I was on the outside looking in so telling me no one understands me isn’t something that I’ll argue with.
It is not because I agree or disagree but because I don’t care what most people think. We are all a little out there and though it would be nice to be the cool sneetch with the star everywhere I go that is not how life works.
We are all a little out there and though it would be nice to be the cool sneetch with the star everywhere I go that is not how life works.
But the part that really makes me smile is the idea that someone thinks I’ll quit because they say no one understands me.
If anything it demonstrates they don’t understand me or recognize I take pride in marching to the beat of a drummer who has no rhythm.
It has taken a long time to become this guy and I am not about to cry because some nameless, faceless troll says something.
Twelve Years Of Blogging
I haven’t begun working on my blogiversary post but I have thought about it a little bit.
Thought a bit about what I have learned and what I want to share. Thought about how many blogs I have seen come and go and how I am still here.
I take pride in that. It may not be meaningful or significant to others but it works for me and that is the kind of lesson I want my children to learn.
Part of the journey is to focus on figuring out what soothes our soul and feeds our heart. It is figuring out what brings us joy and doing what we can to drink deeply out of that bottle as frequently and as often as we can.
I want them to recognize that we are all different and that it is ok to have different interests/focus than our friends and family.
If you are not hurting yourself or others…go for it.
Feed your heart. Feed your soul.
That is an integral part of what keeps you/us alive.
If you have never kissed another and forgotten where your lips start and theirs end you have never really kissed another.
I strongly urge you to rectify that one day…or another.
I can tell you one kiss and nothing was ever the same but whether it wrecked or created me, well that is not for you and I to discuss.
The Two Most Important Lessons
You must figure out how to have fun and you must figure out how to write without fear.
Remove doubt and uncertainty about whether your posts will be loved and appreciated and just write. Put pen to paper, finger to keyboard and punch out the posts.
You miss every shot you don’t take and lose every opportunity you don’t make for yourself. I know it sounds like goofy new age stuff but it is really not.
No one knows who is going to come along and read their words or how those words will impact them.
Some of the best stuff I have ever written has been ignored and skipped over. And some of the weakest words I have ever laid down have been described as amazing.
You can’t say and you don’t know how it will go so you need to just write.
Storyteller and Storytelling
When my kids ask me who I am trying to become I say a storyteller whose life is about storytelling.
And then I tell them to be ok with walking their own winding road and understanding they don’t have to find their passion today, tomorrow or next week.
I tell them it might take some time to discover it and that life is about experiments and journeys.
Kind of funny to hear me say that because the guy who wrote about the death of a blogger would have called it bullshit and the man I am today, well he doesn’t.
That is because he has lived and learned more than he ever could have imagined. Eight years later I can say that I feel like my life was a jigsaw puzzle that was pulled apart and thrown around.
But the pieces that used to fit don’t so part of the journey is finding new ones that do.
WOW Jack. I am really moved by your words, and your message here. I love the way you write and all the gems that you folded into this piece. You portrayed blogging in an accurate and profound way, and I get it. I get it all.
“Part of the journey is to focus on figuring out what soothes our soul and feeds our heart. It is figuring out what brings us joy and doing what we can to drink deeply out of that bottle as frequently and as often as we can.” <— I LOVE this so very much. Yes yes yes yes…
I'm so glad you linked up. I am SURE there are many words you have written that were amazing, just from reading this post. I'm so very happy to connect with you here.
Hi Christine,
Thank you for the kind words, I really appreciate it. Sometimes I try to explain blogging to people who don’t do it but I don’t think they really ‘get’ what I am saying or where I am going with it.
It is always nice to feel understood and appreciated. That is part of the blessing/curse of being a writer because we get it all.
I am glad I linked up too and have had the opportunity to engage with people I haven’t had the chance to do so with before.
Jack, yes – the thing that amazes me the most, or maybe baffles me the most, about blogging is the whole *Not knowing* who’s reading, who’s read, who’s affected, who ‘get’s it,’ and who doesn’t. Someone will talk to me like they’ve known me for years, because they have through my blog, but I don’t know them at all. They never commented, I never knew they were there. It’s…weird.
Yet it’s my doing. I put my words out there and – I hope they work. They do their duty.
I’m only three years in to blogging – I hope I go 12 and beyond. Good for you on 12 – I’m very impressed.
Glad to have found you through #FTSF. – Ms
Hi Mardra,
I always think of commenters as being the part of the iceberg that floats above water and that we never know how many people lurk just beneath the surface.
It really is interesting how much our readers learn about us and how little we sometimes know about them.
First, I’m so glad that Kenya told you about Finish the Sentence so you could link up. I really liked what you said, especially this line “Some of the best stuff I have ever written has been ignored and skipped over. And some of the weakest words I have ever laid down have been described as amazing.” SO right. I’ve only been blogging for 3+ years and sometimes think about quitting but I love it, even when I don’t you know?
Second, I appreciate the reminder about the trolls. I had a bad experience a while ago where people were emailing me, tweeting, and threatening my kid. Not cool, but I kept on and I doubt they know my name, and I don’t know their’s either. Looking forward to reading more of you!
Hi Kristi,
The best advice I have for other bloggers is to have fun with it. If you don’t have fun you don’t last and something about the fun part helps us push ourselves.
At least that has been my experience. The trolls are always around and always ‘happy’ to tell us how “we could do better’ or ‘why they think we suck.’
Keyboards make them brave. 🙂
Thanks for having me as part of the linkup.
Jack I don’t know if you link up with writing prompts and such, though I swear that’s how we found one another… but this post fits so much with Finish the Sentence Friday. I’ve partly written mine and now I hate that I’ve read yours because you’ve written some of my very thoughts! I think it’s cool that you’re a 12-year-old blogger. I’m coming up on 6 and I’ve seen some come and go. I think it’s sad to type in a URL and find that it no longer exists.
Anyway in case you do decide to linkup, it goes live at 10pm EST on Thursdays at findingninee(dot)com. The prompt sentence to finish this week is, “When it comes to sharing online…” or however you want to adapt the prompt for the subject.
I hope I can finish writing mine now 😉
Hi Kenya,
Thanks for the tip. I just updated the post so I could link up. I think you are right, we did meet on one of these link ups, can’t remember if it was Yeah Write, Red Dress Club or one of the others.
We have both been around long enough it could have been one of those or another. I do feel kind of sad sometimes to see how many people come and go here.
Some of them have been very entertaining and I have learned from them. Part of the fun of blogging I guess.
Please Please PLEASE correct the spelling of my name 😉 Thanks for the shout out! I have fumbled over my post so much and rewritten it. I swear I shouldn’t have read yours first. LOL.
And there is your proof that sometimes I move way too fast. I apologize for that. That is one of my hot buttons. I hate misspelled names and I went and did it.
Sorry about that.
Thanks! My pet peeve too 😉 One of my husband’s aunts calls me Kenji. I let her. She’s 90 something. Can’t teach an old dog new tricks. LOL.
No excuses here, dropped the ball on that one. 🙂
I definitely think you have figured out how to write without fear!
12 years of blogging – wow! Happy blogiversary. Feel free to thank your most faithful reader. I’ll stay humble.
Thanks to my most faithful and loyal reader. 🙂